Cloth treating apparatus



May 5, 1970 JOHNSTON 3,509,745

CLOTH TREATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 22, 1968 ATTORNEY 4Sheets-Sheet 8 L. L. JOHNSTON CLOTH TREATING APPARATUS I QEE N N9 om May5, 1970 Filed May 22. 1968 mvsmon.

LAWTON L. JOHNSTON fidfi ATTORNEY May 5, 1970 L. JOHNSTON CLOTH TREATINGAPPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 22. 1968 INVENTOR.

" LAWTON L. JOHNSTON BY WWW ATTORNEY Ilium..-

L; L. JOHNSTON CLOTH TREATING APPARATUS May 5, 1970 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed May 22, 1968 R N O 0 T N S E N V H m0 J L N O m A L la-II I I I II I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Z I I ATTORNEY United States Patent M3,509,745 CLOTH TREATING APPARATUS Lawton L. Johnston, Graniteville,S.C., assignor to Graniteville Company, Graniteville, S.C., acorporation of South Carolina Filed May 22, 1968, Ser. No. 731,032 Int.Cl. D06f 21/00, 23/00, 25/00 US. Cl. 68175 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention is directed to an apparatus for subjectinglengths of cloth to a liquid treatment in a vat, and more specificallyto a device in which lengths of cloth may be unwound from one roll andwound again upon another roll within the vat as they are subjected to asuitable liquid solution, the process being accomplished withoutreversing the position or rotational direction of the rolls and thuswithout interrupting the continuous processing of the cloth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The apparatus comprising the presentinvention and described in the following specification is capable ofbeing employed in many different stages during the processing of rawcloth, such as in dyeing, bleaching and the like, however it will bedescribed in connection with What is known as the boilout stage. Duringthis operation the cloth is subjected to a caustic boiloff to make thefabric more absorbent among other things in preparation for bleachingand dyeing. Before the cloth may he bleached or dyed, there are severalessential prerequisites as to the condition of the cloth, one of whichis this boilout treatment wherein the goods must be exposed to atreating fluid for a sufiicient length of time while in an open width,free from wrinkles and creases.

Initiall, kiers were employed for boiling off cloth, however the clothis not in open width in a kier and therefore it is objectionable in thatcreases and wrinkles created in the cloth during such treatment causeunsatisfactory subsequent bleaching or dyeing of the cloth. It was thenfound that jigs could be employed for treating cloth in open width,whereupon the cloth was unwound from one roll and drawn through a vatcontaining a suitable solution before being wound again upon anotherroll. When the second roll became filled, the cloth was drawn in thereverse direction through the fluid and again wound upon the first roll.These steps were repeated until the cloth was sufficiently saturatedwith or subjected to the desired solution, and such a process would intime result in an acceptable material. However the drawback in this typeof cloth treating apparatus is obvious, since it is impossible to carryon any semblance of a continuous process due to the fact that thedirection of cloth flow has to he repeatedly reversed, and when thecloth has been sufliciently treated, the rolls must be removed and otherrolls inserted in their place.

Subsequently, the inventor of the present invention devised an apparatusfor treating cloth in a continuous process which is described in US.Letters Pat. No. 2,217,534, issued Oct. 8, 1940. That patent describesan apparatus for subjecting lengths of cloth to treating fluidscomprising a tank or vat including a plurality of parallel pairs ofrolls positioned thereover and having a portion of their peripheriesnormally immersed in the fluid. As a length of cloth is wound onto thefront roll of the first pair of parallel rolls, another length isunwound from the adjacent rear roll of the first pair onto the frontroll of the second pair. When the first roll is completely wound and thesecond roll completely unwound, the rear and 3,509,745 Patented May 5,1970 front rolls are capsized and reversed or their positions exchange,so that the front filled roll becomes the rear roll, and the rear emptyroll becomes the front roll. So positioned, the winding process resumesand the original cloth length moved on to the front roll in the secondpair.

The applicant later became aware that such an apparatus and process,although an improvement on prior machines, was still not entirelysatisfactory, since the winding rolls had to be hoisted and capsized inthe exchanging or reversal step.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, on the other hand,eliminates the necessity of capsizing and exchanging the rolls after thefirst roll is filled with the result that the cloth treatment is more ofa continuous process, production may be increased, the work load onmachine operators is decreased, a lower machine maintenance cost isrequired, and less floor space is required.

In summary, the present invention comprises a vat having a series ofrolls or beams positioned in parallel relation to each other andjournaled between a pair of endless conveyors encircling thelongitudinal periphery of the vat, said rolls preferably being partiallyimmersed in the treating solution. The conveyor system according to thepresent invention provides a means for indexing the rolls throughpredetermined stations or positions within the vat as the rolls arefilled and emptied of cloth as opposed to the capsizing or reversalmeans described in applicants prior Patent No. 2,217,534. The process isaccomplished by winding a length of incoming cloth onto an empty roll ata first station within the vat while cloth is being unwound from afilled roll at a second or next adjacent station and taken up on anempty roll at a third station within the vat. Meanwhile, cloth is beingunwound from a filled roll occupying a fourth station in the vat andtaken up at a remote point for subsequent processing. There may be asmany winding and unwinding stations as is desired, but at least foursuch stations are preferred so that the leading edge of the clothentering the vat is the leading edge leaving the vat. When the roll atthe first station becomes desirably filled, and the roll at the secondstation is desirably empty, the winding is halted, the incoming sheet ofcloth severed, and the conveyor is activated to advance the rolls oneposition, whereupon the first filled roll advances to the secondstation, and a new empty roll replaces the first filled roll at thefirst station to continue processing of the incoming cloth.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a more efficientand economical apparatus for subjecting lengths of cloth in open widthto a liquid treatment.

It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus forsubjecting lengths of cloth to a liquid treatment whereupon the cloth issequentially wound upon and unwound from a series of rolls or beamsjournaled at spaced positions between a pair of endless conveyors whichextend around the longitudinal periphery of the vat.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a means forrepeatedly subjecting lengths of cloth to a fiuid treatment withoutrequiring an exchange or capsizing of the rolls upon which the cloth iswound.

It is another and more specific object of this invention to provide anapparatus for subjecting sheets or lengths of cloth to fluids comprisinga tank with a plurality of rolls disposed in parallel spaced relationthereover and having a portion of their periphery normally immersed inthe fluid, means for winding the lengths of cloth onto the front rolland onto alternate rolls while the adjacent second roll and alternaterolls are being unwound, and means for progressively moving said rollsfrom one position to the next when the rolls being wound become full andthe rolls being unwound become empty.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated,

other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a sideschematic view with parts broken away of the improved cloth treatingapparatus, showing its relation to other cloth treating devices inacontinuous line of operation;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the improved cloth treating apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional elevation view taken along the line 33 inFIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, during theprocessing of raw or greige fabric preparatory to bleaching and dyeing,a continuous length of cloth S is subjected to singeing and desizingoperations, foliowed by a period wherein the cloth is held in a scragwhile the enzyme added during desizing converts the size, usuallystarch, to a soluble sugar. Subsequently, the cloth is subjected to awasher and caustic bath as generally indicated at C in FIG. 1 andincluding washer vat 12 and caustic tub 14 through which the cloth S ispassed by means of rolls 16 and squeeze rolls 18, which direct the clothin a zig-zag path. Upon leaving the caustic bath, the sheet of cloth Spasses over guide roll 19 and onto the boilout operation.

According to the present invention, the incoming length of cloth 8passes under a second guide roll 114 (FIG. 2) and is initially woundupon a beam or roll at the first winding station or position 20 at thefront end of boilout apparatus generally indicated at B. The lowerperiphery of beam 20 is preferably immersed in the boilout solutioncontained in vat 60. Subsequent winding stations 22, 24, and 26 arespaced along the length of the vat 60. All of the beams or rolls atwinding stations 20, 22, 24, and 26 are journaled between a pair ofcontinuous conveyors which envelop each side of vat 60 and which will bemore fully explained hereinafter.

Simultaneously with the windin g of sheet 12 at position 20, a secondlength or sheet of cloth S is unwound from a beam at station 22 onto thebeam at position 24, and a third length of cloth S is being unwound fromthe fourth or rear position 26 at the rear of boilout unit B from whenceit passes into a subsequent washing operation. It is evident that asmany positions or stations as desired may be used in carrying out thisprocess. FIG. 1 schematically shows an arrangement where only fourstations are used, however this arrangement is representative only andcould be extended, depending upon the number of immersions in theboilout solution as is felt necessary.

As the cloth S is received initially from caustic bath C and wound uponthe roll at station 20, it is severed when the roll reaches a convenientsize, approximately 3-4 feet in diameter. Then, when the cloth sheet S"unwinds from the roll at the rear station 26 of boilout unit B, it isnecessary to sew the various lengths together to again make the clothinto a continuous sheet. This sewing proc ess is carried out by a sewingapparatus, not shown. After sewing the ends of the layers of clothtogether, the continuous length of cloth passes squeeze rolls 124 and126, beneath guide roll 30, over rolls 32 and 34 and down into wash box36. This box contains a suitable hot water solution for washing thecloth after it has been treated with the solution in the boilout unit B.The cloth passes through a series of rolls 38 and 40 in a zig-Zag courseuntil it has been washed sufficiently to prepare it for bleaching.

Turning now to FIGS. 2-4, the boilout unit itself comprises as a base apair of longitudinally extending lbeams 50 which support the frameworkand vat above the surface of the floor. A plurality of cross members 52,54, 56 and 58 are spaced along and extend between I-beams 50 and providea mounting surface for securing tub or vat 60 thereto.

A framework for supporting the conveyor system extends longitudinallyalong either side of vat 60 and comprises horizontally extending bottom62 and top 64, which are vertically spaced from each other by diagonallyex tending ends 68 and 70, and are reinforced by vertically extendingbraces 72, 74, '76, and 78. FIG. 2 shows one side of vat 60 only,however, it is to be recognized that the conveyor and framework isidentical on the opposite side.

A pair of sprockets are suitably journaled for rotational movement to abracket 81 secured to the upper surfaces of the forward ends of I-beams50, one sprocket being on either side of vat 60, and slightly forward ofthe front wall 61 of the vat. Similarly, a second pair of sprockets 82are journaled on either side of the vat to brackets 83 at the forwardend of top frame member 64. A third pair of sprockets hereinafter knownas drive sprockets 84 are positioned to similar brackets 85 at the rearend of top member 64, and a fourth pair of sprockets 86 are suitablyjournaled to brackets 87 which are in turn secured to the upper surfaceof I-beam 50 at the rear end thereof slightly rearward of back wall 62of vat 60. A conveyor chain 88 extends between and around the sprockets80, 82, 84, and 86 along either side of vat 60. Chains 88 are soassembled that the links thereof are engaged by the aforesaid sprockets,and when drive sprocket 84 is activated as hereinafter described, thechain is progressively moved in a clockwise direction as shown by FIG.2.

A series of rolls or beams 90 are journaled at either end to brackets92, which in turn are secured around said conveyor chain 88, and spacedapart a distance equal to the distance between the beams in the windingposition along the top of the vat. In order to provide a means foradvancing the conveyor from station to station, a motor 94 is suitablypositioned on a platform 95 which extends between the rear portions ofI-beams 50. A drive chain 96 connects the motor to an auxiliary sprocket98 mounted on a drive shaft to which sprocket 84 is also mounted.

Upon activating motor 94, drive chain 96 causes sprocket 84 to rotateand sets the conveyor chain 88 in motion. Such action continues untilwinding rolls 90 have progressed from one position to the next along thetop edge of vat 60. As the unwinding of the roll in the rear station isfinished, it passes around sprocket 84 whereupon it progresse beneathvat 60 and around the front end where it will eventually return tostation 20 again.

The present invention utilizes the technique of surface winding to windand unwind rolls 90, said surface winding technique being well-known inthe art, with the mechanism comprising the following configuration. Twopairs of A-frames 100 and 102 are supported by top members 64 of theframework, one of each pair of A-frames 100 and 102 being attached onopposite sides of vat 60. A- frame 100 rises above the second rollposition 22 along the vat, and A-frame 102 rises above the fourth orrear roll position 26. The purpose of these A-frames is to support thesurface winding mechanism in position adjacent winding stations 20 and24. More particularly, a bracket 104 is secured to the upper extremityof A-frames 100 and 102, to which the winder frame 106 is pivotallyattached.

Winding motor 108 is supported atop one end of winder frame 106, and ispreferably a 5 horsepower, 240 volts DC, 144 rpm. type motor. Puily 110connects the shaft of motor 108 with a shoulder on bearing roll 112,which in turn is journaled between the sides of the other end of windingframe 106.

Associated with hearing roll 112 is guide 114 which is journaled betweenthe sides of winding frame 106 adjacent the bearing roll 112. The clothsheet S arrives from the caustic bath and proceeds beneath guide roll114 and under bearing roll 112 where it is wound upon beam 90 at windingstation 20 in a counterclockwise direction. One end of air cylinder 118is secured to a gusset 101 on A-frame 100, and the piston of thecylinder is pivotally attached to a side member of winding frame 106,thereby providing a cushioning effect for the winder frame, as the clothon beam 90 at winding station 20 begins to build. A second winder frame106' is mounted atop A- frame 102 and includes elements identical tothose associated with winder frame 106, and numbered a such. A-frame102, however, is slightly different in that it further includes arearwardly extending, horizontal extension 120, upon which is mounted asqueeze roll assembly 122. As the cloth sheet S" is unwound from therear winding station 26 on the boilout mechanism, it passe betweenrollers 124 and 126 of squeeze roll assembly 122, before commencing tothe washer W.

In operation, a cloth sheet S proceeds from the caustic bath under theguide roll 114, from whence it is fed between bearing roll 112 and aroll 90 at the first .winding station 20 in a clockwise direction asshown inFIG. 2. When motor 108 is activated, bearing roll 112 is causedto turn in a counterclockwise direction, and since it is in bearingrelationship to the cloth built upon the corresponding roll 90, it urgesthe cloth sheet S onto the roll. This winding action continues until thebeam is filled to a convenient diameter of approximately three to fourfeet. Whereupon the winding motors are shut down and the cloth sheet Sis severed from the incoming continuous length of material.

At this time, referring to FIG. 1, the cloth from the roll at windingstation 22 has been wound onto the roll in station 24, and the clothfrom the roll at winding station 26 has been fed into the washingstation W. Motor 94 is then activated to transfer the conveyor 88 in aclockwise direction until the beams or rolls 90 have been advanced oneposition or station.

The material running from the new roll at station 26 is then sewed tothe rear portion of the material which has just been unwound fromstation 26 and the boilout machine is ready for operation again.

A new sheet of material S is wound onto a new winding roll positioned atstation 20, the end of the full roll at station 22 is fed onto the emptyroll at station 24, and motors 108 are restarted.

It is thus seen that the boilout operation, as described in theforegoing specification, can be carried on in substantially a continuousoperation, without requiring hoisting equipment as shown by applicantsprior Patent No. 2,217,534, and with a substantial savings in time andcost. Where it is desired that each section of cloth have its leadingand trailing ends in an unreversed position when leaving the vat, it isessential that an even number of stations where the cloth is being woundonto a roll, such as stations 20 and 24, be provided. Otherwise, if anodd number of winding stations is used, the lengths of cloth will bereversed, end for end, and therefore the first end of each section toenter the vat'will be the last end to leave it.

Various modifications may be made to this arrangement without departingfrom the scope of thepresent invention. For example, a different type ofwinding apparatus may be used without departing from the basic conceptof the invention. Moreover, as described in the preceding paragraph, adifferent number of winding and unwinding stations may be used, ifdesired.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and although specific terms have beenemployed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forthin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for subjecting a plurality of sheets of cloth material tothe action of a treating fluid comprismg:

(a) a vat for holding said fluid;

(b) a plurality of parallel winding rolls mounted atop said vat andextending between the sides thereof;

(0) means for winding one sheet of material onto one of said rollspositioned at a first or front winding station of said apparatus;

(d) means for simultaneously unwinding a second sheet from another rolllocated at a second station adjacent the first and onto a roll in thethird station;

(e) means for simultaneously unwinding a third sheet from the rollpositioned at the rear station of said apparatus for subsequenttreatment; and

(f) a means for advancing the positions of all of said rolls to the nextstation,.when the rolls at the first and third stations become full andthe rolls at the second and rear stations become empty.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means recited inparagraph (f) comprises a pair of conveyors, each conveyor extending ina longitudinal direction around the extremities of one side of said vat,said rollers being attached to said conveyor at positions spaced apart adistance equal to the distance between said winding stations above saidvat.

3.- The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said conveyorsextends along the top of one side of said vat, down around the ends and,back underneath the same side, forming a continuous loop around eachside of said vat, each of said conveyors being supported by a pluralityof sprockets at each corner of its path, and a means for turning saidsprockets a number of revolutions corresponding to the distance requiredto advance a roll from one winding station to the next.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said vat is elevated fromthe floor, and said conveyors extend between the under surface of saidvat and the floor of the room in which the vat is located.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said cloth is surfacewound onto said rolls.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said rolls are sopositioned, that when said vat is filled with said fluid, at least aportion of the peripheries of each of said rolls is immersed in saidfluid.

7. An apparatus for subjecting a plurality of sheets of material to theaction of a liquid treating bath comprising:

(a) an elongated rectangular vat having a front and rear end;

(b) a framework positioned adjacent to and substantially congruous witheachside of said vat;

(c) said vat and said framework resting on a pair of base members andbeing spaced above the floor;

.(d) a sprocket located adjacent the corner of each side of said vat andspaced slightly forwardly from the front corners and slightlyrearwardlyfrom the rear corners;

(e) an endless conveyor chain on each side of said vat carried by andextending around said sprockets;

(f) a motor actuating means connected to and selectively activating oneof said sprockets, whereupon when said motor actuating means isactivated, each endless conveyor is set in motion around said sprockets;

(g) a series of beams journaled between and equally spaced around saidconveyors and extending across the width of said vat;

(h) said beams having a portion of their peripheries positioned belowthe top edge of said vat;

(i) the distance between adjacent beams being equal to the distancebetween adjacent winding and unwinding stations along the top of thevat;

.6) means for winding a length of sheet material onto the first ofsaidbeams located adjacent the front of said vat;

(k) means for winding a length of sheet material onto successive,alternate beams from the beams immedi ately preceding each of saidsuccessive beams;

(1) a take off means located rearwardly of the last of said beamsadjacent the rear of said vat for removing the sheet material from saidlast beam in preparation for subsequent processing.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said means for winding alength of sheet material onto said 10 WILLIAM 1. PRICE,

front and succeeding alternate beams comprises a surface windingapparatus.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R.242-58, 64; 68-9

